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Greece: Have you read it?

The Greek people voted NO at the referendum last July 5. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Tsipras accepted the demands made by the Troika. New austerity measures were approved in the Parliament... What happened? What does the left say?

After a very difficult July, the crisis continues to hit hard in Greece. In the exhausting month of August, Tsipras government still faces great difficulties: a historic stock market crash, negotiations with the Troika and a difficult social situation that may bring more surprises after the summer.

At a meeting that lasted for 14 hours, Tsipras defeated a motion presented by the Left Platform of Syriza. The Central Committee decided to hold an extraordinary party congress in September, after the third bailout has been completed.

Last Friday, the German parliament approved a colonialist pact against Greece. Although a broad majority voted in favor, the governing parties faced an internal opposition. A dispute that even reflected itself within Merkel’s cabinet.

On Friday, the German Bundestag came together for an extraordinary session to vote on the initiation of negotiations with the Greek government based on the agreement reached last Sunday with the Troika.

On Wednesday, the Greek civil servants union confederation ADEDY held a 24-hour strike against the agreement between the government and the creditors, at the same time Parliament took up a vote on the agreement. Police repressed demonstrators in Athens’s Syntagma Square.

The merciless attitude adopted by the negotiators representing the continent’s main imperialist powers and their allies has smashed the myth of a unified and pacified Europe, of a Europe of compromise and solidarity.

After 48 hours of meetings, Alexis Tsipras accepted every condition of the Eurogroup in order to reach an agreement. The Greek parliament will approve privatizations, cut backs, and other austerity measures in the next three days in exchange for a new bailout.

Despite the resounding NO at the referendum last July 5, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted the demands made by the Troika. A new austerity package is on the way. Syriza has ignored the people’s mandate. The call for a general strike by the public workers federation will pose the first challenge to the government.

Friday night, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras successfully rallied support from Greek MPs for a bailout deal strikingly similar to the one rejected by national vote five days earlier. Once again, left-wing elements within SYRIZA expressed their discontent. A response from the Troika is expected this Sunday.

With almost all the votes counted, 61% are for "No" and 39% for "Yes". The 22-point difference proves wrong those who predicted a narrow result. According to several sources, the “No” vote was stronger in working class districts and among young voters.

Greece has been declared to be “in arrears” after missing a deadline for a €1.5 billion payment to the IMF. As a result, worldwide markets trembled for the last few days. Banks throughout Greece are closed to prevent capital outflow and the people are on the streets. The SYRIZA government has called for a national referendum to vote on the Troika’s draconian proposal, urging the public to vote NO in order to return to the negotiating table.

The troika under the instruction of the German government and the imperialist banks have put Greece between a rock and a hard place. In spite of all the concessions made by the Syriza-led government, which had presented a plan accepting 90% of the austerity measures demanded by the creditors, European capital and the IMF are not satisfied and want further cuts. The European institutions want a total surrender by the Greek people. They want the Greek people to accept the payment of the debt and the EU austerity measures that have plunged the country into unprecedented misery. This has been accomplished with the complicity of the Greek capitalist class and its parties. Drop Greece’s debt! No to austerity! We are publishing here a statement by the Trotskyist Fraction - Fourth International.

After five months of negotiations, Syriza agreed with the European Union (EU) governments on several proposed cuts last Monday. These agreements look to secure the last phase of the 7.2 billion euro bailout, and prevent the country’s bankruptcy.

There is a growing tension between Tsipras and the left platform within SYRIZA due to the negotiations with the Troika. However, Syriza’s “left wing” acts only as formal opposition, while in government continuing to support the parliament’s decisions.